Canterbury Park to build $3M event center
Canterbury Park Holding Corp. plans to break ground in May on a $3 million building to host trade shows and other events year-round.
The 30,500-square-foot facility will have room for approximately 150 exhibit booths, restrooms, a concession set-up room and storage space. It will be located near the paddock area and entrance to the main building.
For the past 13 years, Canterbury has used a large tent near the grandstand entrance to host events. That tent, which only had a life expectancy of eight years, could not be heated in winter and was unavailable during live racing in summer.
Canterbury has hosted non-racing events on about 10 to 12 weekends per year, primarily during spring and winter. Officials hope to triple that total within the next few years with the new facility.
“We definitely see the opportunity to grow our bottom line through this and believe we will get a good return on our investment,” Canterbury Park President and CEO Randy Sampson said.
Canterbury currently hosts events such as large craft shows, the annual Junk Bonanza, the Minneapolis Kennel Club Dog Show and the Spa, Pool & BBQ Show.
“There’s limited competition in the area for booth shows, expos and other large events of that sort,” Sampson said. “The Minneapolis Convention Center and St. Paul RiverCentre are really the only other facilities that have as much space to do those types of shows.”
In addition to making money off of renting the new building, Canterbury figures to benefit from food and beverage sales and incremental revenue from event attendees who stop into its card room, Sampson said. It also benefits from the promotional value of being mentioned in event marketing.
Steve Urban of Lake Elmo-based Out of the Box Architecture designed the building and will manage the construction project. It’s slated for completion in late August.
Reported by: Mpls St Paul Business Journal
The 30,500-square-foot facility will have room for approximately 150 exhibit booths, restrooms, a concession set-up room and storage space. It will be located near the paddock area and entrance to the main building.
For the past 13 years, Canterbury has used a large tent near the grandstand entrance to host events. That tent, which only had a life expectancy of eight years, could not be heated in winter and was unavailable during live racing in summer.
Canterbury has hosted non-racing events on about 10 to 12 weekends per year, primarily during spring and winter. Officials hope to triple that total within the next few years with the new facility.
“We definitely see the opportunity to grow our bottom line through this and believe we will get a good return on our investment,” Canterbury Park President and CEO Randy Sampson said.
Canterbury currently hosts events such as large craft shows, the annual Junk Bonanza, the Minneapolis Kennel Club Dog Show and the Spa, Pool & BBQ Show.
“There’s limited competition in the area for booth shows, expos and other large events of that sort,” Sampson said. “The Minneapolis Convention Center and St. Paul RiverCentre are really the only other facilities that have as much space to do those types of shows.”
In addition to making money off of renting the new building, Canterbury figures to benefit from food and beverage sales and incremental revenue from event attendees who stop into its card room, Sampson said. It also benefits from the promotional value of being mentioned in event marketing.
Steve Urban of Lake Elmo-based Out of the Box Architecture designed the building and will manage the construction project. It’s slated for completion in late August.
Reported by: Mpls St Paul Business Journal
